Ectopic pregnancy. Prevalence and risk factors in women attending a tertiary care hospital in Saudi Arabia

OBJECTIVE: To find the prevalence, risk factors, and pattern of management of ectopic pregnancy (EP).

METHODS: This retrospective study was conducted between January 2000 and December 2010 in all patients admitted to King Fahd Hospital of University, Al-Khobar, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Patients with suspected history of EP were collected. We collected the following data: age, parity, history of present pregnancy, any infertility treatment, diagnostic methods, and findings.

RESULTS: The prevalence of EP was 1.13%. The average age was 30.42±6.9 years. One hundred and eight (41.7%) women had previous pregnancies compared to 151 (58.3%) (p=0.0002, 95% CI of difference: greater than or equal to -0.0811 compared to primigravida. Eighty-four women had spontaneous pregnancy post EP. Thirty-one were 28.9±6.9 and 53 women were of 39.592±5.9 years (p<0.001; 95% CI of difference greater than or equal to -11.8735). Abdominal pain (n=251) and vaginal bleeding (n=240) was the most common presenting symptom.

CONCLUSION: This 10-year analysis showed that incidence of EP in our region is within the range as reported in the literature. Those who are undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF), ovulation induction (OI), previous EPs are significantly more prone to acquire EP second time around. Age was an important risk factor for developing EP in women who had borne children.